carthageacademyfandomcom-20200213-history
Seasonal Fields
The Seasonal Fields are a metaphorical device used in Occult Physics to explain the various states of wavelength frequencies projected in the Aetherium. The four field types differ greatly in property and function and are present in different concentrations. In general, a field can be subverted and assimilated by the field that comes after it in the seasonal cycle. Thus Vernal Fields can be slowed by Summer Fields; Summer Fields Broken apart into winding Autumnal Fields; and Autumn Fields calcified by the more stagnant Winter Fields; which can in turn be re-agitated by the significant application of Vernal Fields. Fields have difficulty influencing their opposite field as they quickly reach a balanced equilibrium when exposed to each other. Thus Autumnal fields and Vernal fields have difficulty influencing each other, as do Summer and Winter fields. Though Autumnal Fields are the most well known of the Seasonal Wavelengths, four actually exist in total. Vernal Fields: ''These are the slightest yet most active of the fields known to Arcane Theorists. Vernal Fields are difficult to influence through the use of other fields as they consist of very short rapid wavelengths that shift through the margins of other influences. Vernal Decay is the process by which Vernal Waves gradually lose focus and become Summer fields over a long period. Vernal Fields are commonly known as "The Fields of Life and Death," as they are present in most animate cells, both being generated by and nourishing those cells in return. All living things give off a subtle yet measurable Vernal Field. These Fields tend to be immutable against Autumnal Field manipulations. They affect them mildly at best, and for this reason Physicists are un-able to alter them directly with conventional means. Vernal Fields tend not to be used in Arcane Sciences due to these difficulties and no reliable Gates exist to manipulate them. WIth great effort Vernal Fields can be stored in small quantities. This is somehwat similar to the manner in which Autumnal fields can be stored in Leydon Jars. Devices meant for this purpose are called Hircon Apparatues. They are typically quite large because of the immense power required for sustaining Vernal fields. This owes to the natural difficulty in maintaining Vernal Fields as they suffer from Vernal Decay. These apparatus are mostly used for experimental purposes as no use for stored Vernal Energies beyond study is currently widespread. ''Summer Fields: The most stable form of Seasonal Fields known to Physicists, Summer Fields can maintain their steady pattern for long periods of time without outside intervention. Summer Fields are composed of rhythmic medium sized wavelengths. As Summer Fields are so uniformly prevalent, they make up the majority of background Seasonal Field static. The majority of Summer Fields found in nature are generated by Vernal Decay: It is produced both by the Vernal Fields of living beings and the raw radiation of the Aetherium. Autumnal Shifting is the term for the process by which Summer Fields become irregular over time, eventually transforming them into Autumnal Field patterns. Physicists make extensive use of Summer Fields in the form of Automated Channeling devices. Simple tools, Channeling Devices break down ambient Summer Fields through agitation to produce Autumnal Field energy, which can then be stored in a Leydon Jar. Unlike Hicron Devices, Leydon Jars vary widely in size and can be easily portable. Before the advent of these devices Arcane Professionals relied solely on Channelers using trance states to pierce the Aetherium and shepherd raw Autumnal Energy for use. Though their properties are well understood, the unreactive nature of Summer Fields render them less than ideal for raw manipulation through the use of Gates. Many effects in Arcane Physics are achieved by using Summer Fields indirectly however. A Gate Formula often works as a channel for a small to moderate amount of Autumnal FIeld energy, which then in turn breaks down the surrounding Summer Field pattern into additional Autumnal force to actively achieve the effect. This effect is often likened to dominos. Though theoretically Summer Fields could be stored as other Field energies are, the high prevalence of this energy type in the enviroment makes it uneccessary. It is readily accessible and as such is not typically kept on hand. Autumnal Fields: ''Autumnal Fields are by the the most thouroughly used and understood of all Seasonal Fields. More erratic and unstable than Summer Fields and having far more potential energy than Vernal Fields; this energy makes up the cornerstone of the sorceries of Autumnal Physics, and gives the area of study its name. Autumnal fields are found in trace amounts as background radiation, but are much more prevalent in the lattice work of the Aetherium itself. Autumnal Fields will eventually become to erratic to support their own potential energy. This event, known as Wintercine Calcination, is the process by which Autumnal Fields are rendered into Winter Fields. The erratic wavelength of Autumnal Fields makes them easy to manipulate through the application of force of Will and the shaping effect of Gates. Autumn Fields lack some of the potential energy present in Summer Fields (some of the energy is randomly expended, thus the erratic nature of the fields) but make up for this diminished nature by being able to break ambient Summer Fields down to bolster the potential energy present. Autumnal Fields function as a potent catalyst for other forms of energy and matter. Though stable when dormant in the enviroment, once agitated the fields can have profound impacts on probability and the laws of physics. These effects seem to come about through the manipulation of the Ambient Field Enviroment and the break down and restructuring of the binding lattice of the Aetherium. Once agitated and expended in this way, such as through sorcery, the field's potential energy is exhausted and it quickly dissolves into the Ambient Field Enviroment, becoming a mixture of Summer and Winter Fields. If released without the direction and structure of applied Will, raw Autumnal Energy will burn its potential manifesting as light, sound, heat, and random fluctuation of probability. Though it represents a potent and seemingly endless source of energy, using Autumn Fields on a large scale, such as in a power plant, would be unwise. Relatively tame in small amounts, large amounts of Autumnal Energy strains the limits of rational minds and the structured world to contain it. All living creatures also possess personal autumnal fields. These occur naturally as the Vernal Fields generated by the body decay through Summer Field state and eventually become Autumnal Energy. The Autumnal fields produces by this natural process have a higher degree of stability than those of other forms. Personal Autumnal Fields (PAF) linger close to the being that projects them, clinging to that creature's conciousness and sense of self. These personal fields are constantly stabalized by the perception and subconcious patterns of the projector and thus will resist the efforts of intruding Autumnal Forces to shape the creature or their personal space. This personal pool of Autumnal Power is too stable to be easily or readily shaped by Gates, but plays a primary role in the use of nearly every known Horror, both fueling and facilitating the effects. Using Horrors will gradually wear away this Personal Field, though it is replenished through natural processes fairly quickly. Different beings possess different levels of innate ability to generate personal fields, though practice and introspection can help bolster this ability, for this reason the Personal Autumnal Field is frequently likened to a muscle as using it can increase its capacity and effectivness. Arcane Physicists frequently store Autumnal energy in Leydon Jars, using a lattice of symbolic and precious metals and materials to maintain the charge of the held Autumn force. Of all the seasonal fields, Autumnal Energy has the distinction of being the easiest to channel and store. ''Winter Fields: Winter Fields are generated when Autumnal fields expend their potential energy and collapse in upon themselves. Unresponsive and possessing a potential energy quotient of near zero, Winter Fields are the most unreactive energy form known to modern physics. These field structures make up the majority of the static present in the Ambienbt Field Enviroment along with Summer Fields. Though consistant and intense application of Vernal Energy can increase the frequency of Winter Fields, eventually incorporating them into the Vernal wavelength, they are more resistant to shifts than other energy fields. Physicists make use of Winter Fields to contain other, often dangerous energy fields in isolation for study. Though sluggish these fields are used in Locks and Keys placed in Formulae that restrict or direct the flow of Autumnal Energies for the purposes of sorcery. They are often viewed as limiters or scaffolding to shape Autumnal forces as needed. Due to their calcified nature Winter Fields are slow in response to manipulation, despite this there exist a handful of Gates that make use of them directly. The Nullification Gate for example is commonly used Gate for Formulae meant to restrain or dispel out of control or offending Sorceries; it functions by using Autumnal Energy to spread rapidly and immediately decay into Winter Fields, often calcifying the Ambient Summer Energy present as well. Loose Autumnal Energy, such as that of spells in motion, are stifled by the massive generation of inflexible Winter Fields. Without being at least moderately agitated by an influx of Vernal or Autumnal Energy Winter Fields will not possess this dampening quality as their wavelengths would be too sluggish to overpower or interact with more rapid field types. There is a tendency for the bodies of Dead but Animate beings to possess higher levels of Winter Energy than the bodies of Living beings. It was originally theorized that this was because Winter Fields replaced the role Vernal Fields play in the systems of the living. This was eventually proven false by the physician Walter Koenig in 1934 during his infamous Seasonal Field Discrepancy Experiment. Interestingly the sole exception to this appears to be Ghosts, whose unusual physical structure makes them the subject of many exceptions. The basest most unchanging part of a ghost's ectoplasmic corpus appears to be made from condensed Winter Energy, serving a structural role similar to a skeleton in solid beings. Edit to keep the wiki!